Saturday, August 09, 2008

Letters-34: “Stringent Laws to fight Terrorism"

1. The mind without fear, which Tagore referred to, remains a dream. The country is in the clutches of fear even while it is set to celebrate another Independence day. While we were busy with the trust vote, the terrorists tightened their hold on our country – Shibin Joseph, Kozhikode.

2. After every terror attack, the same rituals are performed by the media, politicians, and the government of the day. They condemn the attacks on innocent lives, demand action against terrorists, point a finger at a neighbouring country and the Opposition demands that POTA be brought back and Afzul Guru be hanged. Is anyone serious about combating terror? I don’t think terrorism can be addressed by investing in police intelligence and investigative capabilities. That no action has been taken against those responsible for the Gujarat riots, the Delhi anti-Sikh riots, and Babri mosque demolition shows that the culprits are more powerful than the rule of law. And when people don’t get justice from the government, they become vulnerable to those who exploit their sentiments and seek to create trouble by dividing society. The solution to terrorism is enforcement of the rule of law in letter and in spirit. This will restore the people’s faith in the government and law-enforcement agencies. It will be the first step in the right direction – Rakesh Vats, Beijing.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, July 29, 2008 (“Letters to the Editor”)

It is painful and nauseating to read about repeated terrorist attacks and with ever incident, the inadequacy, impotency, inefficiency and lack of seriousness of the legislative bodies and enforcement-agencies are time and again exposed. For example, if the law-makers are really serious they can take hint from anti-terrorist legislations from outside. I am furnishing below some relevant foreign legislation against terrorism and how others are tackling terrorism. Also about our own experiments with ‘TADA’ and ‘POTA’.

Related Articles from the Internet:

1. “Counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism organizations” from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-intelligence_and_counter-terrorism_organizations

2. “Terrorism in the United States” from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_the_United_States

3. “Intelligence analysis management” from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_analysis_management

4. “Anti-terrorism legislation” from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-terrorism_legislation#India

5. “TADA” (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act) from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorist_and_Disruptive_Activities_%28Prevention%29_Act

6. ‘POTA’ (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevention_of_Terrorist_Activities_Act

7. “Terrorism Act of 2006 (UK)” from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Act_2006

8. “Terrorism Acts (UK)” from Wikipedia: (From 2000 to date)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Acts

9. “Terrorism Act 2006(c.11)” from The UK Statute Law Database (Full Text of the Act):
http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?activeTextDocId=2321013
Grateful thanks to M/s. Shibin Joseph, Kozhikode; Rakesh Vats, Beijing; The Hindu; The UK Statute Law Database and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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